1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger here. On Sunday, October one, a country 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,159 Speaker 1: music festival in Las Vegas became the scene of a 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: mass killing when a gunman positioned in a high rise 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: hotel began shooting at concert goers. At least fifty eight 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: died and more than five hundred others were injured before 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: the shooter took his own life. This is according to 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: Las Vegas TV station k X and T. During the attack, 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: the shooter at one point managed to fire nearly ninety 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: rounds in just ten seconds, according to a New York 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: Times analysis of audio posted on social media. The speed 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: of that bullet barrage led some to assume that the 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: killer used a fully automatic firearm, a type of gun 14 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 1: that automatically reloads after a shot is fired, fires again, 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: and then repeats the process as long as the trigger 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: remains depressed. With the Firearm Owners Protection Act of six, 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: Congress banned the sale of new fully automatic firearms, but 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: once produced before that date, are still obtainable after the 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: purchaser goes through an FBI background check. But the Las 20 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: Vegas killer didn't need a fully automatic weapon to unleash 21 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: rapid fire terror. In a Wednesday, October four press conference, 22 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,199 Speaker 1: Jill Snyder, special Agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, 23 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: Tobacco and Firearms from the San Francisco office, said that 24 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: when authorities reached the gunman's hotel room, they found an 25 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: arsenal that included twelve semi automatic rifles equipped with aftermarket 26 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: attachments called bump fire stocks. As Snyder explained, the devices 27 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: are designed to simulate automatic fire without mechanically altering the 28 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: function of a rifle in a way that would make 29 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: it illegal under current federal law. A standard fully automatic 30 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: weapon like a pre n coult A R fifteen, can 31 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: fire a hundred shots in about seven seconds, according to 32 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: the New York Times analysis, while a semi automatic a 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: R fifteen style assault rifle of the kind used in 34 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: the June two thousand sixteen Orlando nightclub shooting that can 35 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: fire twenty four shots in nine seconds. The bump stock, 36 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: though the one that was used in Las Vegas, more 37 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: than triples the capability of the ladder. As The Truth 38 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: about Guns, a popular gun blog, explains, a bump fire 39 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: stock basically replaces the rigid standard stock on a rifle, 40 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: Unlike the standard stock, the bump fire stock has a 41 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: small amount of space that allows the rest of the 42 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: rifle to move back and forth. That way, the recoil 43 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: causes the gun to bump the trigger against the shooter's finger, 44 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: increasing the speed of firing. As a discussion thread on 45 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: the gun enthusiast website a R fifteen dot com explains 46 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: it's possible to get a similar effect by holding the 47 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: rifle at waste level. Though they increase the lethal potential 48 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: of a gun and replicate a now illegal to possess firearm, 49 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: the bump stocks themselves do not violate the current law. 50 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: A two thousand ten letter produced by the A t 51 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: F explains that one bump fire device that was evaluated 52 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: was found to be a legal firearm part and therefore 53 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: not regulated under the Act. Senator Diane Feinstein, a Democrat 54 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: from California, has introduced a bill that would ban devices 55 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: designed to allow a semi automatic weapon to simulate full 56 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: auto speed. According to CNBC, even some Republican members of Congress, 57 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: generally reluctant to enact firearm regulation, are now willing to 58 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: consider such a band. In the wake of the Las 59 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: Vegas shootings, both the White House and the National Rifle 60 00:03:51,040 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: Association have indicated an openness to considering more regulation. Today's 61 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: episode was written by Patrick J. Keiger, produced by Tristan McNeil, 62 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: and For more on this and other topics, please visit 63 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: us at how stuff works dot com.